Ann Johnson is a Scottish Highland Dance instructor. Her expansive career in Highland Dance began as a competitor who placed in competitions throughout the United States and Canada. She went on to teach Highland Dance to dozens of students through the years, some who won and placed in the United States Inter-Regional, North American, and Scottish championships. Ann is a widely known and respected judge for Highland Dance competitions in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Scotland as a member of the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dance Judges’ Panel. She is also a Fellow and Examiner for the Scottish Dance Teachers’ Alliance.

Ann’s motto is “Strength in Tradition”, which is fitting as a teacher and judge for a centuries-old form of dance. Ann needed a professional logo that captured not only the history and tradition of Highland Dance, but also the elegance and achievements of her award-winning and decades-long career in Highland Dance.

The Ann Johnson School of Highland Dance logo features a stylized illustration of a thistle, the national flower of Scotland. This imagery conveys other symbolism, as well. The thistle leaves not only mimic a celebratory crown of laurel, but they also resemble the upright, curved position in which Scottish Highland dancers hold their arms. Most importantly, the thistle leaves resemble the antlers of a stag. In Highland Dance, dancers hold their hands in a position that represents the stag, an animal with deep and ancient symbolism within Scotland.

Ann loved her new logo, as did her colleagues in the Highland Dance world. Upon posting her logo online for the first time, she received rave reviews.